Frequently Asked Qustions

The Office of Jury Administration provides qualified jurors to the Circuit Court of Cook County. The office's duties include: mailing jury summonses; assessing requests to be excused, transferred to another courthouse or postponed to a later date; providing orientation and answering juror questions; and paying jurors for their service.

You should arrive promptly at the time indicated on the top portion of the summons. The time will be either 8:30 a.m., 9:00 a.m., or 9:30 a.m. depending on the location to which you have been summoned. If you are not sure what time to arrive, please call (312) 603-JURY.

Jurors should dress comfortably, but properly for a courthouse. Shorts, mini-skirts, tank tops and halters are NOT permitted. If you report wearing any of these items, you will be asked to return home, at your own expense, to change into more suitable attire.

The jury process can require a juror to wait a considerable amount of time. For this reason, jurors are encouraged to bring a book or other form of reading material with them to the jury assembly room. Jurors may NOT bring cameras or radios. The jury assembly room staff will store any of these items that a juror brings until the juror leaves for the day.

The courthouse ban on cellphones and electronic devices was enacted to protect the privacy and safety of persons attending court and to maintain court decorum. It does not apply to persons reporting for jury service. You may bring such devices with you when you report for jury service and use them while you are in the jury assembly room. However, they must be turned off when you are in a courtroom. The trial judge will inform you whether you may use such devices to take notes during the trial.

If you are NOT selected to serve on a jury, you will be released at 4:30 p.m. If you are selected to serve on a jury, you will be released when the trial judge says you can leave (usually no later than 6:00 p.m.).

No. An employer is NOT required by law to pay employees who are on jury service but many employers do. You should check with your company's human resources department before serving to see if your company pays your salary for days you are a juror. If you DO receive your salary while on jury service, you should ask what your employer requires as proof that you served as a juror.

No. According to Illinois law, "…An employer may not deny an employee time off for jury duty. No employer shall discharge, threaten to discharge, intimidate or coerce any employee by reason of the employee's jury service, or the attendance or scheduled attendance in connection with such service…" 705-ILCS 305/4.1(a).

If you are fired or experience workplace problems based on your participation in jury service, write a letter detailing what occurred to:

After completing jury service, you should NOT be called to serve again for a period of 12 months from the date you last served. If you are summoned again within this time period, simply call the Office of Jury Administration at (312) 603-JURY to be excused. You may be asked to show proof of jury service, so please retain your check receipts for your records.

Failure to appear for jury service when summoned is a serious matter. You may be held in contempt of court which could result in a fine or other court imposed penalty. It is in your best interest to appear if you are summoned to avoid any further action.

Yes. Pay phones and vending machines are located in the jury assembly room. If you plan to make calls or purchase vending items, please bring enough change. Jury assembly room staff will not be able to provide change.

Every year the Office of Jury Administration receives a list of Cook County residents from the Illinois Secretary of State, the Cook County Board of Elections, and the Chicago Board of Elections. These lists are then combined into one master list and names are randomly selected to receive jury summonses.

If you do not meet ALL of these qualifications, please contact the Office of Jury Administration before the date you are supposed to serve. Please be prepared to support your belief that you are not qualified to serve.

The Opt-Out Program allows potential jurors 70 years of age or older to either transfer to another court location or choose not to participate in jury service. In order to opt-out, you must call (312) 603-JURY before your service date. Opting-out does NOT remove your name from the juror list indefinitely. You may be summoned again at a later date, at which time you may either choose to serve or call to opt-out again.

The United States Constitution and the Illinois Constitution guarantee all people, regardless of race, religion, sex, national origin or economic status the right to trial by an impartial jury of one's peers. In order to uphold this guarantee, we need those summoned to participate in the jury process to ensure every citizen's right to have their case decided by an impartial jury selected from a representative pool of prospective jurors.

Your duty as a juror is to weigh all of the evidence and testimony presented to you and to decide the outcome of the case based upon the law and the evidence. Your decision must be fair, impartial and free of any bias or prejudice. Jury service is the basis of our judicial system and is essential to the administration of justice.

After your panel is selected and reports to a courtroom, a process known as voir dire begins. During voir dire, the judge and possibly the attorneys will ask you questions to see if you can keep an open mind and be fair. After you have been questioned, you will either be selected or excused for that particular case. If you are selected, you and the other selected jurors will receive instructions from the judge as to what is expected of you. If you are not selected, you will return to the jury room and may be sent to another courtroom with another panel. If you are not selected by the end of the day, you will be released from the jury room and your service will be completed for at least one year.